Mullum Music Festival 2018

November 15, 2018 - November 18, 2018

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Mullum Music Festival 2018

A good festival inspires creativity and helps turn a group of people into a community, said Festival Director Glenn Wright. Mullumbimby now has a thriving arts and cultural community and we are very proud that over the last 11 years Mullum Music Festival has played a significant role in the town’s renaissance. We re really excited about this year’s program and can’t wait to share it with our local community and the many music lovers who make an annual pilgrimage from all over the world and Australia to be with us.

With more than 80 artists yet to be announced now is the time to grab a slice of Mullum magic and get your tickets before they sell out.

For centuries, the desert town of Agadez has served as a converging point for the great camel caravans driven by the Tuareg that link West Africa with North Africa and the Mediterranean. Born in 1980 at a nomadic camp near this dusty outpost, the young guitarist and songwriter Omara Bombino Moctar was raised during an era of armed struggles for Tuareg independence and violent suppression by government forces. Bombino’s electrifying jams capture the spirit of resistance and rebellion while echoing with guitar riffs reminiscent of fellow Africans Tinariwen and Ali Farka Touré not to mention rock and blues icons such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Page. Bombino’s new album ‘Deran’ is out now.

A disciple of Lee Scratch Perry, Mad Professor was one of the leading producers in dub reggae’s second generation. His Dub Me Crazy albums helped dub make the transition into the digital age, when electronic productions started to take over mainstream reggae in the 80s. His space-age tracks not only made use of new digital technology, but often expanded dub’s sonic blueprint, adding more elements and layers of sound than his forebears typically did. In the mid-90s, he returned to the basics, debuting a more retro-sounding style on the Black Liberation Dub series. Additionally, he ran his own studio and label, Ariwa, which was home to a stable of vocalists (with an emphasis on lovers rock and conscious roots reggae) and some of the finest British reggae productions of the era. As his reputation grew, he became a remixer of choice for adventurous rock and techno acts, most notably revamping Massive Attack’s entire second album under the new title No Protection.

Deeply mystical, Jah9 has emerged from a chrysalis of poetry, dub and spirit to become a powerful femiNINE energy within a universal grassroots movement of consciousness. Inspired by the open spaces in the instrumental dub of 1970’s Jamaican roots music, Jah9 sings with a voice that belies the dimensions of her physical body, from a soul much older than its current vessel; reminiscent of that darkly operatic wailer for truth & justice, Nina Simone. Her philosophy profoundly spiritual, and her style Jazz on Dub.

Sydney folktronica artist Gordi caused a stir in late 2014 and early 2015 with her luminous indie pop songs Nothing’s As It Seems, Taken Blame and Can We Work It Out. The tracks were picked up by triple j and community radio around the country, and attracted international interest from tastemaker blogs, radio and showcase events, drawing comparisons to Asgeir, Tallest Man on Earth and Angel Olsen. Gordi has since been nominated for two FBi Radio SMAC Awards, nominated as Unearthed Artist of the Year at the J Awards, and was the #1 Most Played Artist on triple j Unearthed. Most recently Gordi has toured with Missy Higgins, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Asgeir, Julien Baker & Gang Of Youths to name a few. Her latest exquisite debut album ‘Reservoir’ was recorded across multiple continents with a range of world-class producers and musicians. Gordi’s soulful vocals are complemented by crisp, ethereal production across 11 tracks that delve into the ramifications of loss and time. Writing music has always been and will remain my therapy, my process and my way of communicating, she explains. I don’t write songs by someone else’s prescription, I write to fill my own need. I get this tightness in my chest, and nothing will make it go away other than trying to write lyrics or sitting down at a piano and playing it, and it’s like a medicine. If I have a good session of that, then that tightness and that weight just totally lifts. It just centers me, and gets the things that are riddled through my mind out on paper. And then I can leave them there.

Osaka Monaurail are Japan’s premiere funk orchestra, and, as the late Marva Whitney once described them, one of the hottest funk bands on the planet. They have been recording and touring together for more than 25 years and have thrilled audiences across Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia with their dynamic show. Expect to see a nine-piece band with sharp suits, organised steps, trumpets twirling in formation and the dynamic showmanship of charismatic singer and director Ryo Nakata. And expect to hear world- class, authentic, heavy funk.

With 8 releases under his belt, Jordie Lane is widely regarded as one of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters today. It’s been a huge 18 months since the release of his acclaimed album ‘Glassellland’ which won a slew of praise and awards including named Double J Album Of The Week, nominated for The Age Music Victoria Awards, and winning Tower Of Song Of The Year. Descriptions of Lane’s voice land some place between Rodney Crowell and Ron Sexsmith, with a musical style driven always by what the song asks. From finger picking folk to Rock n roll roots, Lane’s knack for comedic wit and storytelling are a timeless and captivating experience.

Kaiit has been singing since she can remember, and is blessed with an enchanting voice that crosses musical boundaries. Born in Papua New Guinea, Kaiit bounced back and forth between Australia and her homeland as a child before her family eventually settled down in Melbourne. Kaiit grew up listening to alternative music, with her parents embracing the likes of Pink Floyd. Over the years she developed a love for jazz and neo-soul. At only 19 years old, Kaiit has shaken up the world of future-soul and RnB. She’s been named as one the best rappers under 25 by Red Bull Music, sharing the list with artists such as Joey Bada$$ and Chance the Rapper. Kaiit’s first two releases ‘Natural Woman’ and ‘2000 n Somethin’ have together clocked over 1.2 million streams on Spotify and been shown plenty of love from Triple J and Triple R. She has supported The Internet on their sold out national tour in Melbourne and Sydney, and is currently on tour performing at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory alongside New Zealand’s rising star JessB. After sell out shows and multiple festival appearances, Kaiit is set to drop her EP in the second half of this year and is proving to be of the most exciting artists to watch in 2018.

Atmosfolk, that’s how Morgan MacIntyre and Gemma Doherty aka Saint Sister describe themselves. Drawing from early Celtic harp traditions, 60s folk and electronic pop, Saint Sister, formed in November 2014. The duo infuses a mix of soulful vocal harmonies, dreamy synth and electro-acoustic harp. Voted by readers of the Irish Times as Best Irish Band in 2016 they have since done multiple showcases at SXSW and made notable appearances at numerous festivals including Glastonbury, Latitude, Electric Picnic, Longitude, The Great Escape, Reeperbahn Festival and Eurosonic. This is their debut Australian tour.

Hat Fitz and Cara can in no way be mistaken for a dainty duo. They are festival favourites throughout Canada, Australia, Europe, and the UK and it has been said they pack more energy into one song than most have in an entire career. A unique combination of hill-style Gospel blues with old timey flavourings and stripped down to just voices, guitar and vintage drums, Hat Fitz & Cara embellish impeccable rootsy originals with soulful vocals reminiscent of a time once forgotten. Their fourth album, ‘After The Rain’ is a unique vintage sound that these two have created themselves yet it is packed with a modern punch that can not be denied once seen live.

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Byron and Beyond / Paramount Publication House acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation. We acknowledge the traditional custodians, The Bundjalung and Yugambeh people, of the lands on which our company is located and where we conduct our business. We pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present. Byron and Beyond / Paramount Publication House is committed to honouring Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.